The Russian Mosin Nagant Forum

Been asked many times before I guess. Was shooting my M44 and M91/30 today.

After about 20 rounds shooting the M44, the bolt was getting difficult to extract the fired round?

On my M91/30 the small upper wooden hand guard is sliding forward after shooting. The barrel bands seem to be tight. Any fixes?

Thanks.

M44 could be sticky bolt syndrome.....Many opinions on what causes it, build up of grease still in the rifle from storage. Take bolt apart clean well, clean chamber well, inspect to make sure all grease is gone. I use boiling water when I first get a rifle followed by carburetor cleaner to get all it out. To each their own on how it's done, we all have our ways.

Another opinion is lacquered ammo being used, as to whether this is a real issue or not is beyond me, I haven't used any lacquered ammo so no experience there. The theory is the heat causes it to heat up, come away from the shell, and seep into the chamber causing it to become sticky as it dries some. If this is an issue, don't use lacquered ammo, or clean often while shooting to prevent it.

On the M91/30 I have no answer for a fix, a few of mine do it, I either ignore if or remove the upper handguard if it's enough to bother me. Another thing I've done is taken that stick to itself gauze they use after they take your blood, and wrap it around a few times to keep it in place.

I'm sure you'll get some better answers and better fixes for the handguard. Good luck.

Good ole' sticky bolt syndrome. Put that in the search box at the top of the page and you will find the remedy's. Invest in a 20 gauge shotgun brush to put in your cleaning kit.

2700fps wrote:Been asked many times before I guess. Was shooting my M44 and M91/30 today.

After about 20 rounds shooting the M44, the bolt was getting difficult to extract the fired round?

On my M91/30 the small upper wooden hand guard is sliding forward after shooting. The barrel bands seem to be tight. Any fixes?

Thanks.

Probably burnt grease in the places the lugs on the bolt locks into.. An old tooth brush with solvent gets in there good, followed by patches until they come out clean.
You can tighten a loose handguard by folding 2-3 layers of aluminum foil longways and lay it inside the guard before you put it back on.

Sticky bolt, what they said. Sliding hand guard, push it back or take it off. Don't overthink it. Do what works.

Thanks for all the helpful ideas.

No lacquered ammo but I will try the boiling water and carb cleaner.
I’ll get a 20 gauge shot gun brush too.
The aluminum foil is a great idea, like a washer! Easy kitchen fix!

But a special thanks to millman for the most helpful post of all....I will really try not to over think it.......great advice....
Really I’ll try hard....

You can put a thin shim under the band springs to make them grip the band tighter. Just be careful, if you try to pry the spring up to get under it it can easily snap.

I solved my creeping hand guard problem by using a very fine punch to knock out the barrel band retaining springs, then cleaned all the accumulated old muck off the back of them and out of the slots on the stock and then carefully refitted them back in the stock so the end with the pin is just flush with the stock.With the barrel bands back in position they are now held in place by the retaining springs as they should be and the hand guard no longer creeps forward.

Easy with the carb cleaner, it will eat the lacquer off the wood and any other painted finish. I use brake cleaner when I have to but hot boiling water is best.